The heart of this application is a smoothly functioning, high-through-put Animal Core that can provide animal care that meets or exceeds The Guide standards while meeting the needs of the phenotyping core investigator and the phenotyping core laboratories. The Animal Core for the Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center (MMPC) at UCD (MMPC-UCD) will be comprised of space, resource, and personnel within the UCD Mouse Biology Program (MBP). MBP focuses on expanding knowledge ofthe biology of laboratory mice and on the application of genetically-altered mice in biomedical research. Among the many projects relying on MBP support and vivarium services are the NIH/NCRR's Mutant Mouse Regional Resources Centers (MMRRC) and the trans-NIH Knock Out Mouse Project (KOMP) Repository. MBP is already engaged in working with investigators around the globe coordinating rodent imports and exports;creating, expanding and cryoarchiving lines of genetically altered mice;assisting research planning using genetically altered mice (age, gender, number, genetic background, special husbandry requirements, etc);and providing stewardship and oversight of animal care and health for all mice housed in MBP. With the MBP operational and management program within the University and our close working relationship with the UCD Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (lACUC), the Attending Veterinarian, and rodent infectious disease specialists, MBP has wide latitude in the importation, quarantine and housing of mice of varying health statuses. With this experience and these operational programs in place, we are uniquely qualified to provide rodent importation, acclimation/quarantine, housing, health monitoring and project scheduling that will be conducive for rapid and efficient evaluation of strains submitted to MMPC-UCD for phenotyping. This Animal Core will have the institutional resources and authority to import and acclimate/quarantine mice for further phenotypic analysis with minimal delay. This will broaden the availability of metabolic phenotyping tests by allowing more investigator mice to be imported and analyzed, and expedite generation of data and completion of research using these mice in a more timely fashion.